Harry Potter and the Heir of Voldemort
by Dream Jupiter
Summary: It's Harry and his friends' fifth year at Hogwarts. Will Ron's and Hermione's true feelings finally be revealed? Will Harry find love at Hogwarts? And, most importantly -- WHO IS VOLDEMORT'S HEIR???
1. Default Chapter

1 Ch. 1  
  
  
  
"WHAT?! Hermione, are you sure?" 15-year-old Harry Potter asked his friend through the telephone.  
  
"Positive," replied 15-year-old Hermione Granger. "Viktor's just received an owl about it from the Durmstrang school governors. All Durmstrang students will definitely be attending Hogwarts with us this year. Isn't it wonderful?" she asked dreamily. "I'll get to spend all of my spare time with Viktor…every spare moment…"  
  
Harry held the phone away from his ear as Hermione droned on and on about Viktor Krum, her boyfriend. They'd started dating back in December…on Christmas Day, in fact. Viktor was staying with Hermione's family for the summer, and, from what Harry had heard, her parents simply loved him. Of course, Hermione's parents liked pretty much everyone. Harry's family was the exact opposite. The Dursleys – Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Cousin Dudley – hated Harry and all of his friends. It was nothing personal, really…the Dursleys just didn't like people who weren't normal. And Harry and his friends were anything but normal.  
  
Harry Potter was a wizard about to start his 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His two best friends and Housemates, Hermione and 15-year-old Ron Weasley, were also about to start their 5th year at Hogwarts. Harry was scheduled to leave for Ron's house, otherwise known as "the Burrow", in half an hour, and was listening to Hermione talk while he packed his things. He was packing up all of his belongings, actually. He would not be returning to the Dursleys' house on number four Privet Drive. The set plan was for Harry to take all of his things to Ron's and finish the last 2 weeks of summer there, then while he was away at school his godfather, Sirius Black, would pick up Harry's things from The Burrow and Harry would go home with him after the schoolyear was over. It would be the beginning of a new life for him – hopefully a relaxing one, as there was so much stress in his current life, what with having to keep up with all of the lies the Dursleys told to keep his true identity a secret.  
  
Another reason he was under a lot of stress was because he was "the famous Harry Potter…the boy who lived!". When he was merely an infant, a Dark wizard called Lord Voldemort (more often called "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who- Must-Not-Be-Named") came to his home and murdered his parents in front of him using the Killing Curse. Then, Lord Voldemort tried to do the same to Harry, but it backfired and left Voldemort powerless and nearly dead, leaving Harry completely unharmed with the exception of a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Since then, Harry had come face-to-face with Lord Voldemort several times, each time just barely escaping death. Everyone thought that Voldemort had been made aware of Lily, James, and Harry Potters' location by Sirius Black, James Potter's best friend, even though it had really been Peter Pettigrew, another of James' old friends. Peter, Sirius, and James, were all Animagi, meaning they could transform into different animals at will. Because of this, Peter managed to fake his own murder by Sirius. Sirius was taken straight to Azkaban, the Wizard Prison, without a jury trial or anything of the sort, while Peter was thought to be dead. 12 years later, Sirius managed to escape with his sanity, revealed the truth to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and went into hiding. In the month that had passed since the end of Harry's, Ron's, and Hermione's 4th year at Hogwarts, it had become common knowledge in the wizarding world that Sirius Black was innocent and that Peter Pettigrew was alive and helping Lord Voldemort. This was all thanks to Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, as well as the greatest wizard in the world. Now, Sirius was out of hiding and finding a decent place to live. In the meantime, Harry was going to stay with the Weasleys for the remainder of the summer.  
  
Harry checked his watch. It was almost 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 12. "Listen, Hermione, I've got to go. Ron's expecting me in a few minutes." He picked up his school trunk, his Quidditch broom (a Firebolt given to him by Sirius in his third year), Hedwig's cage (she had flown ahead to Ron's that morning), a box of clothes and books like Quidditch Through The Ages, a small scarlet pouch, and headed out of his room and down the stairs to the kitchen.  
  
Uncle Vernon's eyes bulged when he saw Harry. "You…you…"he sputtered. Harry glanced down at himself and realized that he was wearing plain black wizarding robes – his school robes. The sight of Harry dressed in wizard attire in his kitchen was too much for Vernon Dursley. Harry waited expectantly for Vernon to finish his rant. Instead, Vernon put a hand to his forehead and wheezed, "Just…go…now…"  
  
Harry went to the fireplace, started a good-sized fire, and opened up the scarlet pouch, which held a good amount of Floo powder. Floo powder was the easiest way for a wizard to travel, so he'd had Ron's dad, Arthur Weasley, connect the Dursley's fireplace to the Floo network one last time (he'd done it the summer before, too). Harry tossed a handful of the silvery powder into the flames, turning them green. "Bye, Uncle Vernon," he said, stepping into the harmless flames. And Good riddance, he thought to himself. Then he said, loudly and clearly, "The Burrow!" Suddenly he felt as though the room was spinning, and he was getting quite dizzy…and then all of a sudden, it stopped and he fell out of the grate and into the Weasley's kitchen.  
  
"Oi, Fred! Look at this! I've tried something new with the Canary Creams. These ones should work even faster than our old ones!"  
  
"What, George? Let me see…hmm…I'll have to try one…gulp…SQUAWK!!!!!"  
  
"Uh…Fred? Maybe we should re-name these things Rooster Creams…"  
  
Harry closed his eyes and smiled to himself. Welcome to the Burrow, he thought.  
  
17-year-old Fred Weasley (now back to his human form as opposed to the form of a giant rooster) and his twin brother George glanced up from the table and caught sight of Harry standing up. "HARRY!" Fred yelled, jumping up from the table while plucking stray feathers out of his flaming red hair. "Simply smashing to have you back, I hope those Muggles haven't been giving you too much trouble."  
  
"No, not any more than usual," Harry replied.  
  
There was a mischievous gleam in George's eyes. "How is old Dudley, anyway? I do hope that his tongue is back to it's normal size…" The twins doubled over laughing, remembering what happened last summer when they came to get Harry for the Quidditch World Cup. Harry's enormously overweight cousin, Dudley, had been on a diet, so when Fred dropped a few candies in brightly colored wrappers, Dudley couldn't resist them. As it turned out, they were the twins' latest creation, Ton-Tongue Toffees. Dudley's tongue was nearly 3 feet long before Mr. Weasley was able to shrink it. The boys had gotten quite a kick out of it, even though they were banned from producing any more dangerous jokes. Practical jokes were a big part of their lives – they intended to open up a joke shop when they left Hogwarts after the coming term.  
  
Just then, Ron and his younger sister Ginny walked into the kitchen. "Oh, good, you're here," Ron said. "Come on, I'll take you up to my room, there's something I need to show you."  
  
Harry nodded in a rather oblivious state, as he was too busy staring at Ginny to pay much attention to Ron. It was amazing how much could change a person in only a month. Ginny looked brilliant in her pale blue robes that she wore around the house. Her hair looked different than usual...it was somewhat curly, as opposed to stick-straight like it always had been. The biggest difference, though, was her face – she was wearing makeup. "Hi, Ginny," he managed to say. Ginny smiled at him.  
  
Mrs. Weasley chose that moment to enter the room. "Oh, Harry, you're here! Great, now I can start dinner while you unpack in Ron's room." She noticed him staring at Ginny and smiled. "Oh, and doesn't Ginny look wonderful? I took her to Madame Fenks' Styling House so she could have a new look for school this year. Doesn't she look amazing?"  
  
Ginny blushed beet-red, and Harry said, "Oh…um…yes, she does --"  
  
But Mrs. Weasley went on without listening. "I really think it makes her look older, don't you? I mean, she looks great. Maybe she'll have better luck with the boys this term—"  
  
"MUM!" Ginny cried, blushing even darker red.  
  
Suddenly, Ron spoke up. "Mum, Harry and I are going up to my room now. Call us down when dinner's ready."  
  
"Oh, of course, dear. Go ahead." Mrs. Weasley got out some pots and pans and started waving her wand around. Thick red sauce formed in a pot, and she placed the cover over it and set it on top of a burner. The twins went back to experimenting with Ginny sitting down to watch, and Ron and Harry went upstairs to Ron's room.  
  
Ron's room was not much different than it was the last time Harry had seen it. There were still the poster's of the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite Quidditch team, with the players flying around on broomsticks all over the place. The fish tank contained two large frogs now, and Pigwidgeon, Ron's bouncy young owl, was still in his cage, which was being shared by Hedwig, Harry's snowy owl.  
  
"Hedwig! You made it here alright?" Harry quickly opened the cage and Hedwig shuffled out. Harry opened up Hedwig's cage, and she settled in. Pretty soon she was asleep with her head beneath her wing. "I hope she hasn't been any trouble or anything, Ron." Harry watched Hedwig while he waited for Ron to say something. Ron didn't say a word, which worried Harry, as Ron was usually rather talkative. "Ron?" Finally, Harry turned around to see Ron slumped on his bed, looking distraught. "Ron, what's the matter?"  
  
Ron looked up at him. "'What's the matter'? This is the matter!' He reached over to his nightstand, picked up a photograph, and thrust it at Harry. "There's a letter attached to the back."  
  
It was a photograph of Hermione, smiling brightly, and Viktor, scowling as usual but not as much. Harry turned it over to read the letter.  
  
Dear Ron,  
  
I'm sorry that I won't be able to stay with your family this summer because Viktor will be staying with me. I'm awfully excited about him meeting my parents, I know they'll love him! Tell your family I'm sorry, but Viktor and I will definitely see all of you in Diagon Alley in a few weeks. Bye!  
  
Yours truly,  
  
1.1 Hermione  
  
Harry had read it aloud, and when he finished, he looked up. "So? What's wrong?"  
  
Ron handed him another letter. "This one came just before you got here. I was reading it when I heard you talking with Fred and George, so that's why I took so long getting downstairs."  
  
Harry started reading aloud again:  
  
Dear Ron,  
  
Viktor's just received an owl from the Durmstrang school governors saying that all Durmstrang students will be attending Hogwarts this year! Isn't that brilliant? It'll be quite wonderful, being able to spend all of my spare time with Viktor…I really can't wait. We'll see you in Diagon Alley!  
  
Sincerely,  
  
1.2 Hermione  
  
Harry looked up. "Are you going to tell me why this is bothering you or not?"  
  
Ron nearly fell off the bed. "She's planning to spend every waking moment with HIM! How is she going to have time for me —I mean, us?"  
  
"Ron, calm down," Harry said as Ron climbed back up onto the bed. "Hermione has always had time for us before. I'm sure it won't be a problem."  
  
"How can you be so calm about this?" Ron asked, shocked. "Don't you see? He's taking over her life!"  
  
"No, he's not. I'm happy for her, actually. Why aren't you?"  
  
"WHY ON EARTH SHOULD I BE?!?!" he yelled. "Why should I be happy when a girl I've liked for FOUR YEARS is planning to throw away her social and academic lives for VIKTOR KRUM?"  
  
Harry stared at him for a moment. "You like her?"  
  
Ron sighed. "Yes. I've done a rather excellent job of hiding it, though, haven't I? It's hard to keep a secret like that for such a long time. She nearly found out last Christmas, with the Yule Ball and everything. I'm surprised you hadn't guessed yet."  
  
"No…I never would have, either…" Harry was in shock. How could he not have realized it before? Especially with that little fight Ron and Hermione had had after the Yule Ball. He was truly sorry for Ron, whose luck with girls wasn't very good at all, especially last year. There was beautiful Fleur Delacor, who had been the Beauxbatons school champion in the Triwizard Cup – when Ron had asked her to the Yule Ball, she had just sort of stared at him. Then he took Padma Patil to the Ball instead, but she ditched him for another guy. It really wasn't her fault – Ron was ignoring her. Her twin sister, Parvati, was Harry's date, but she left him, too. Neither of them had actually minded, since the girls they had really wanted to be with were Fleur Delacor and Cho Chang. Hermione had gone with Viktor Krum, of course, and Ginny had gone with Neville Longbottom, another one of their friends.  
  
"I was thinking," Ron went on, "that maybe I should tell her. I mean, it's awfully hard for me to keep up this charade, you know?"  
  
Harry stared at him. "Ron, what do you hope to achieve by telling her?"  
  
"I'm hoping that she'll forget all about Krum and fall madly in love with me," he said matter-of-factly.  
  
"And do you think that's going to happen?"  
  
Ron gave a sheepish grin. "No." He sighed. "I know she's happy, and that's a good thing…I just don't want her to spend all of her time with him. Is that selfish?"  
  
Harry put the letters back on the nightstand and dumped his things on the floor next to the cot on the other side of Ron's room. "No, that's not selfish. Hermione's a good friend. It's natural that you don't want to lose her. Just don't tell her that you like her…at least not yet."  
  
"Yeah, that's probably not a good idea. She'd think I was trying to break the two of them up – which I would be, of course – and she'd never forgive me." He suddenly looked up at Harry. "Don't tell anyone, okay? I don't want to go through anything like what you two went through last year." During the previous year, Rita Skeeter, a very exaggerative reporter who really liked to cause trouble, had written several articles about Harry and Hermione's "relationship". She had gotten it into her head that Harry and Hermione were in love, and that made a lot of other people think the same thing. It had caused them a lot of problems and made things somewhat awkward between them, but it all got resolved in the end.  
  
"Don't worry – my lips are sealed," Harry replied. "Just so I'm aware, though…does anyone else know?"  
  
"Only you and Ginny. If Fred and George found out, I'd never hear the end of it."  
  
"Alright, I definitely won't tell them. You have nothing to worry about."  
  
Ron looked relieved. "Oh, good. Now, then – care to explain the way you were staring at my sister earlier?"  
  
Harry blushed. "It's not what you think. Ginny and I are just friends. It doesn't matter how nice or pretty she is…I can't think of her that way. Not now, at least. Maybe when we're older, but not now."  
  
"Well, good," Ron said. "It's not that I wouldn't approve," he added hastily to Harry's mock-hurt look, "it's just that she's finally gotten over you."  
  
Harry looked surprised. "Really?" Ginny had liked him since she had first met him, almost four years ago. Harry hadn't minded, although his feelings for her had always been strictly platonic. Ginny was more than just Ron's little sister…she was his friend.  
  
"Don't look so shocked," Ginny's voice called from the doorway. "It had to happen sometime."  
  
Harry and Ron whirled around to see Ginny saunter (yes, saunter) into the room. "How long have you been standing out there?" they demanded in unison.  
  
"Not too long," she replied sweetly. "But I already knew about Hermione anyway." She turned to Harry. "How's Sirius?"  
  
"He's good, according to his letters. He says he's got a big surprise waiting for me at Hogwarts, though, and I've no idea what it could be."  
  
"You're really lucky to have Sirius," Ron said. "Has he found a place to live yet?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "No. I'm a bit worried about that. Right now, Dumbledore has him staying at Hogwarts, but he can't do that much longer. He needs a place of his own if I'm going to live with him."  
  
"Listen, I hate to break this up, but Mum sent me up here to tell you to come down to dinner," Ginny said. "We'd better get down there."  
  
They hurried down the stairs to find everyone already seated at the kitchen table. "Everyone" meaning Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, and Percy, Ron's 19- year-old brother. Mrs. Weasley was walking around the table giving everyone large helpings of spaghetti and meatballs. There were four empty seats, all with steaming plates of spaghetti and meatballs in front of them. Mrs. Weasley motioned for them to sit down as she put a plate of hotrolls in the center of the table. "Eat up, everyone! Now, I was thinking that we should go to Diagon Alley a week before you go to school, so make sure you tell all your friends when we'll be there." She sat down and sighed. "It was so much easier last year, what with the World Cup and all…it was really just mothers. Quite peaceful, too."  
  
Fred looked up from his food, pretending to be insulted. "You mean you didn't miss us, Mum?"  
  
"Eat your dinner, Fred," Mrs. Weasley ordered sternly. She looked at Harry and Ron. "So, boys, how's Hermione? Have you heard from her lately?"  
  
Ron went back to looking miserable, and Harry sighed. How on earth is he going to get through an entire term of watching Hermione and Krum together? he thought. 


	2. 

1 Ch. 2  
  
  
  
"Ron! Harry! Time to get up!" Mrs. Weasley called from the doorway. "We're leaving for Diagon Alley in twenty minutes, so you'd best get dressed and eat breakfast in a hurry."  
  
Harry groaned. At least he was getting more sleep here than he had been at the Dursleys – he'd had to get up at the crack of dawn each morning to cook breakfast for all of them. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and glanced over at Ron. He was shocked to see that Ron was fully dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a grey tee shirt, his hair neatly combed, his face scrubbed. He looked a nervous wreck, though.  
  
"Ron, are you alright?" Harry asked, standing up and stretching, then looking at him with concern.  
  
Ron shook his head. "No. I'm nervous. Can't you tell?" He started pacing around the room while Harry quickly changed into black jeans and a maroon tee shirt. "Honestly, wouldn't you be nervous if you were seeing…hmm…Cho Chang for the first time since the end of the term, and you had someone really famous as your competition?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "Not Cho. I'm over her."  
  
Ron stared at him in disbelief. "Since when?" The left the room and started down the long staircase.  
  
"I have been for awhile. And anyway, she's still mourning Cedric – not that I blame her for that, after all, she was in love with him – so even if I did still like her, I'd never approach her about it. It'd be too upsetting for her." Cedric Diggory had been killed by Lord Voldemort at the end of the Triwizard Tournament in June.  
  
Ron sighed. "Well, if Ginny can get over you, I suppose anything's possible…"  
  
"HEY, I HEARD THAT!" Ginny's voice yelled from the kitchen, where she was eating a bowl of oatmeal. She was wearing a pair of very tight black jeans with a blue camouflage halter top cut high above her navel, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail with a few curly strands framing her face. She wore a bit of makeup as well. She looked at least sixteen years old.  
  
Ron gave her a once-over and went pale. He gave a strangled cry. "MUM!"  
  
Mrs. Weasley hurried into the kitchen. "Let's go, we're leaving in 5 minutes!" She glanced at Ron. "Yes, dear?"  
  
Still white as a sheet and hardly able to speak, he pointed to his sister. "Mum…LOOK at her! She looks…she looks—"  
  
"Like a girl," Mrs. Weasley finished, waving her hand dismissively. "Ginny, dear, you look lovely. The boys' eyes are going to pop out of their heads." Ginny blushed beet-red. "Ready to go?"  
  
Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George gathered at the fireplace behind Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley. "Now, then," Mrs. Weasley went on, "first stop is Gringotts. After that, we'll separate. Your father and I will pick up your new robes – yours, too, Harry – while you go off with your friends. We'll all meet in Flourish and Blotts at 3:00 to buy your schoolbooks." Mrs. Weasley tossed a small handful of Floo powder into the fire, and one by one they landed in a Diagon Alley grate. After a quick head count, they trooped off to Gringotts.  
  
A goblin led them to a large cart into which they all climbed in and sped down to the Weasley family vault. The goblin, Griphook, opened it up -- it was a good deal fuller than it had been the last time Harry had seen it. Mrs. Weasley scooped about a quarter of the Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts into her purse, the vault was closed, and they sped off toward Harry's vault. It was quite full, as he had inherited a small fortune from his parents when they died. He surveyed its contents for a few seconds before taking about a tenth of it – even that amount was almost as much as what Mrs. Weasley had taken out of her vault. Harry would be more than happy to share his entire inheritance with the Weasleys, but if he ever offered, they would be thoroughly insulted, especially Ron.  
  
After Gringotts, the group split up. Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley went off to the robes shop, Fred and George hurried to Gambol and Japes to find their friend Lee Jordan, and Harry, Ron, and Ginny went to Quality Quidditch Supplies to meet Hermione and Viktor Krum.  
  
"Where is she?" Ron asked nervously.  
  
Harry looked around. There were a great deal of Hogwarts students in the room – Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were looking at Quidditch robes, Draco Malfoy (flanked by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, as usual) was running his fingers over a Firebolt Quidditch broom (like Harry's), and Hermione and Krum were walking towards them. Hermione had gotten her hair straightened again – this time for good, it appeared. She had on a pair of blue capris pants and a scarlet tee shirt that read "Gryffindor Lions". Krum was wearing blue jeans, a black tee shirt, and his usual scowl.  
  
"Coming this way, I believe," Harry replied.  
  
Ron gulped. "Must…remain…CALM…" he muttered. "Must act…NATURAL…"  
  
Hermione grinned rather cheerfully. "Hello, Harry, Ron, Ginny! Oh, Ginny, you're looking brilliant! Hasn't this been a magnificent summer? I think it's been wonderful, don't you? I can't wait until classes start. I'm really anxious to see my Arithmancy professor, I need to ask him for some extra work…" She went on and on – no one else could get a word in edgewise.  
  
"Well, well, all the gang's together again," a familiar voice drawled from behind them. The small group turned around to see the sneering face of Draco Malfoy, with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. "And with a new addition, too," he smirked at Krum. "How much is the little Mudblood paying you to be her boy toy, anyway?"  
  
"Don't…you…EVER call her that!" Ron jumped on Malfoy, knocking him to the ground. They rolled around, hitting and kicking each other, raising up a cloud of dust around them so that it was incredibly hard to see how badly they were hurting each other.  
  
Krum looked at Hermione. "Why does he think you are paying me?"  
  
She went quite red. "He's the type of person who thinks that Muggle-borns aren't worthy of professional Quidditch players."  
  
"Malfoy's an egotistical bigot," Harry explained.  
  
"But, Hermy-own, you're a very good witch, and very smart, and very pretty," Krum told her, giving her one of his rare half-smiles. She blushed. "This Malfoy obviously is jealous of how good you are."  
  
Harry looked down at Ron and Malfoy, still brawling, then back at Hermione and Krum. "Er…Viktor? Do you think you could help me with these two?"  
  
Krum, who had been staring into Hermione's eyes as if in a trance, suddenly snapped out of it and glanced down at the two boys. "Oh…yes, of course." He seized the back of Malfoy's green tee shirt and yanked him up off the ground as Harry pulled Ron off of him. Krum set Malfoy on the ground next to Crabbe and Goyle, who were too shocked to say or do anything but stand there with their mouths half-open.  
  
Ron dusted himself while being lectured by Hermione. "Really, Ron," she said in a reproachful tone, "you're always looking for a reason to fight with him…and in public, too! What do you think your mother would say?"  
  
Ron stared at her. "He called you a…a…a Mudblood, Hermione! What was I supposed to do, let him laugh about it?"  
  
Hermione sighed. "Well, I was always rather partial to 'Eat dung, Malfoy' myself…"  
  
Ron gave her an exasperated look. She just shrugged.  
  
Malfoy stood up. "You should really learn to control that temper of yours, Weasley," he smirked. "It'll get you into a good spot of trouble someday. At least Potter here knows better than to pick a fight with me."  
  
Harry glared at him. "Actually, Malfoy, I just don't feel like wasting my time beating the snot out of you." Harry wasn't usually this rude to anyone –- even Malfoy – and it looked as though he might "beat the snot out of" Malfoy after all.  
  
Ginny grabbed his arm. "Harry, don't do anything stupid," she said as he reached for his wand. "Malfoy's not worth expulsion from school."  
  
Harry suddenly realized what he was doing and snapped back to reality. He'd come close to being expelled too many times to risk it again.  
  
Meanwhile, Malfoy was staring at Ginny as though seeing her for the first time. "Weasley," he said, addressing Ron but still looking at Ginny, "what on earth happened to your sister?"  
  
Ron looked even angrier than before, but Ginny tugged at his shirtsleeve. "Ron, we're supposed to meet Mum and Dad at Flourish and Blotts now."  
  
"Oh, you haven't gotten your books yet?" Hermione asked. "Well, neither have Viktor and I! We'll come with you." They set off, leaving Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle behind.  
  
Harry and Ron walked behind Hermione, Krum, and Ginny, who were all talking about how interesting the summer had been. Ron looked angry. "I beat Malfoy to a pulp for her, and what do I get?" he whispered to Harry. "Nothing! Not even a single word of praise! And what about the way Malfoy was looking at Ginny? He looked interested!"  
  
"Well…she is rather pretty, Ron," Harry pointed out. "Lots of people are going to look 'interested' when they see her."  
  
"But why him?" Ron whispered fiercely. "Why Malfoy? I don't like this at all…"  
  
"Will you relax?" Harry looked at him, concerned. "You're going to drive yourself bonkers over this. Ginny doesn't like him one bit, so you haven't got a thing to be worried about. Besides, she's still your sister. Malfoy wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot-pole."  
  
By this time they had reached Flourish and Blotts, where Fred and George were standing with their new books. Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley stood next to them at the register, ready to pay. The five of them hurried to get their books (Ron, Harry, and Hermione – Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5; Ginny – Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4; Krum – Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7) and then took them up to the register. After everything had been paid for, Hermione and Krum set off for The Leaky Cauldron, where they were meeting Hermione's parents, and Harry and the Weasleys went back to the grate that would get them home. One by one, they landed in the Weasleys' kitchen fire, and Ron and Harry hurried upstairs to Ron's room to see what kind of robes Mrs. Weasley had gotten them.  
  
"Well, what do you know!" Ron exclaimed, holding out his new dress robes – they were navy blue and free of any lace, nothing like last year's. "Mum actually got me some decent robes!" Harry inspected his own dress robes – they were exactly like his from last year, only maroon instead of green.  
  
"Just think," Ron said, packing his robes into his school trunk, "this time next week, we'll be at Hogwarts. As 5th years. Won't that be great?"  
  
"I expect it will be," Harry replied. "I'm going to be the Gryffindor Quidditch captain this year. I can't wait to get back to practicing…it's been way too long since I've ridden my Firebolt."  
  
Suddenly, a large tawny owl swooped into the room through Ron's open window and landed on Ron's bed. "That's Hermione's new owl, Calliope. Look! A letter, already?" He untied the slip of parchment from Calliope's leg, and the owl flew out of the room. Ron began to read:  
  
Dear Harry and Ron,  
  
I completely forgot to tell you about Bethany Hodges today. She's Viktor's cousin from London. She's going to be a 5th year with us, isn't that brilliant? She went to Durmstrang for her first four years, but now she'll be at Hogwarts with us and all of the ex-Durmstrangers. I do hope that she and Viktor will be Gryffindors!  
  
Love,  
  
Hermione  
  
Ron inhaled deeply and sighed. "It smells like her."  
  
Harry stared at him. "Ron – stop that. It's disturbing. Besides, maybe this Bethany is what you need! She can help you forget about Hermione."  
  
Ron turned on him, eyes flashing with anger. "I don't want to forget about Hermione! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M IN LOVE WITH HER?"  
  
Harry took a few steps backward, and Ron's face fell. "I'm sorry, Harry – I didn't mean to do that. It's not your fault. It was a good suggestion, too. It's just not the right one." 


End file.
